Collection Native Americans and the White House
Native Americans hold a significant place in White House history. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples, including the Nacotchtank and...
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Twentieth-century historical forces and social movements left their marks on the working White House. In 1900, nearly 87,000 inhabitants (almost a third of the population) of Washington, D.C., were black, forming the largest urban community of African Americans anywhere in the United States. However, racial segregation, as a formal policy, was endorsed and enforced in the Taft White House (1909-13), and remained an accepted household management practice for many decades.
World Wars I and II depleted the White House residence staff as workers were called up for military service. The Great Depression meant tight wages, and war rationing affected the types of meals prepared for the First Family. Although a moratorium on entertaining from 1941 to 1946 curtailed certain employee tasks, workers continued to play a vital role in the operations of the White House.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, widely known for her interest in labor issues and human rights efforts, made it a point to seek the advice and counsel of White House workers during the Franklin Roosevelt administration. As a result, many White House workers encountered improved working conditions and more enlightened attitudes towards household staff in general, and African Americans in particular.
Native Americans hold a significant place in White House history. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples, including the Nacotchtank and...
In 1821-1822, Susan Decatur requested the construction of a service wing. The first floor featured a large kitchen, dining room,...
For more than a century, thousands of Americans have gathered in Lafayette Park across from the White House to exercise...
For more than one hundred years, White House Social Secretaries have demonstrated a profound knowledge of protocol and society in...
While there has yet to be a female president, women have played an integral role in shaping the White House...
In 1816, Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr. and his wife Susan moved to the nascent capital city of Washington, D.C. With...
For more than two centuries, the White House has been the home of American presidents. A powerful symbol of the...
First Lady Lou Hoover's invitation to Jessie L. DePriest to a White House tea party in 1929 created a storm of...
The White House Historical Association and the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project present this collaboration in an effort to open a...
Lonnie G. Bunch III is the fourteenth secretary of the Smithsonian; he assumed his position June 16, 2019. As secretary, he oversees...
The White House Collection and the Atlantic World Jennifer L. Anderson, Mahogany: The Costs of Luxury in Early America (Cambridge,...
David M. Rubenstein is co-founder and co-chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful pr...